Global Research Recognition for The George Institute

The George Institute for Global Health has been ranked the top independent research organisation in Australia, and come in at 33rd overall in the world.

The review of the world’s non-university and non-commercial research organisations was produced for Times Higher Education and is based on field-weighted citation impact (FWCI).

Prof Vlado Perkovic, Executive Director of The George Institute, Australia said this was a significant achievement.

“This reflects both the quality and the impact of our research that is being published in the highest ranking journals. It also demonstrates that our work is being recognised for its importance.”

FWCI is an indicator of research impact that accounts for differences in citation levels across fields, article types and publication age.

In the latest rankings, which include research institutes and a range of other organisations, the global FWCI average was 1. The George Institute scored 3.3 which means its work is cited 230% per cent more than average in its field. The number of publications were also highlighted, with The George Institute producing almost 1900 reports and studies from 2013-2017.

Professor Perkovic also said the results highlighted the importance of both domestic and international collaborations, including The George Institute’s affiliation with UNSW Sydney.

“By working with UNSW Sydney we have identified new opportunities and areas for continued research growth and impact in Australia, and beyond through our centres in India, China and the UK. The rankings are a great result but it’s also essential that our work goes beyond citations and improves the lives of people that need it most both here and around the world.”

Professor Rodney Phillips, Dean of Medicine at UNSW Sydney, added:

“This is an outstanding mark of recognition for The George Institute. This ranking is in complete accord with the excellence that is a hallmark of that institution. The alliance with UNSW is flourishing and we at this university are very proud of this close association.”

The American Cancer Society was the top rating global organisation with an FWCI of 13.45, followed by the Broad Institute, US, at 5.71 and Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research third with an FWCI of 5.03.

About the rankings

Institutes and hospitals were ranked on the basis of their field-weighted citation impact, calculated using Elsevier’s SciVal tool, between 2013 and 2017. Research organisations that produced fewer than 500 research papers during this period were excluded.

Field-weighted citation impact is a normalised measure of citation impact where citations are normalised according to discipline, publication type (article, review, letter, etc) and age of publication, such that papers are only compared against others of the same type in the same field and in the same publication year. Hence, although there are many medical research facilities in the ranking, this reflects their abundance, rather than the fact that medical research is typically more highly cited than research in many other fields. Institutes that are part of a network, such as Max Planck Society institutes, have been grouped together.